Roadside stands hit a peak in popularity in the mid-20th century with increased car travel and the desire for farm to-table products. Today, roadside stands are making a comeback. There is a resurgence of small markets popping up throughout Johnson County providing consumers with fresh local produce and handmade goods.
Today’s consumers are seeking fresher, higher quality products that are locally sourced and perceived as healthier and more sustainable. Franklin Magazine features three such roadside stands in the Franklin area:
Little Light Farms
3865 N 700 E
Needham, IN 46162
Owners: Amelia, Eleanor, Georgia, June, and Ezra Kean.
Cash and Venmo payment accepted.
Open 9 a.m.- 9 p.m., Daily if not raining. Self-serve stand.
Little Light Farms is owned by the children of Seth and Ashley Kean who came up with the name Little Light Farms for our “littles to share the light of Jesus” with others while providing local produce, meat, and other goods.
This summer is the first season for Little Light Farms roadside stand. They offer whole frozen chicken, beef, eggs, a variety of fresh vegetables, flower bouquets, baked goods, firewood, breads, and craft items made by the girls. Everything is grown or raised in their backyard or sourced from a local farm. They have their own greenhouse.
The older three girls, Amelia (10), Eleanor (9), and Georgia (7) love homesteading and making things. Looking for a way to make money which all kids enjoy, they produced the idea of the stand.
“We are a homeschooling family of seven, so it has allowed us to really explore and dive in on the areas that they (the children) are interested in,” Ashley says. Seth built the farm stand with the girls, and they have been looking forward to seeing how their first summer works out. They also offer a “free little library” with Bibles and Christian Children’s books.
“Our girls love Jesus and want to share who He is with other children,” Ashley says.
Playful Pharms
8306 West Shelby State Road 44
Franklin, IN 46131
Owner: Megan Philpott
Cash and Venmo payment accepted
Open 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. Thursday – Sunday, Self-serve stand.
Operating on her second season, Philpott and her husband, Adam, purchased their home in 2023 knowing they wanted to eventually turn the property into a hobby farm for her three children to learn from and enjoy. With an old corn crib sitting next to State Road 44, they decided it seemed like the perfect place to host their storefront.
Playful Pharms offers fresh blue, green, and brown speckled eggs that derive from their flock of chickens along with hand cut flowers, a variety of produce, and some vintage items for sale. In the fall, she will offer pumpkins. She sources her products from her own garden and supplements her stand with items from a Franklin west side farm. You might even catch Megan at her stand on some days arranging flowers!
Rinehold Honey
Rinehold Honey2391 W 100 North
Franklin, IN 46131 (near State Road 135)
And a second location on Park Avenue (near Franklin College)
Owners: Tim and Christa Rinehold
Payment box for cash or Venmo
Hours of Operation are dependent on weather, temperature and season, but typically stocked most days.
Offering a unique and popular product on today’s market, Rinehold Honey offers local, pure, wildflower honey, hot honey and honeycomb. The Rineholds began their roadside stand seven years ago when they started producing surplus honey. They found more people were asking for their quality, local product.
Honey is nature’s natural sweetener with several potential health benefits, including actings as an antioxidant, antibacterial agent and anti-inflammatory substance. The Rineholds manage 30 hives on average and all their bees are sourced within Johnson County.
Their honey has earned Grand Champion honors at the county fair by both of their children and supplies the honey Oaken Barrel uses to create “Apple Buzz” in the fall. Plans for expansion are underway for Rinehold Honey to add pure beeswax products, including candles, and bee pollen.
Check out these and other charming roadside stands this summer and fall. Along with the health benefits of fresher locally-sourced products, the stands are fostering a sense of community between farmers and consumers.
